Echoes From a Forgotten Planet
by doubledeckerbus99
Summary: It is the dawning of a new era on the planet Nardon. The birth of steam engines, gunpowder and electricity is propelling the world into the throes of a mighty industrial revolution. Yet all of this technology seems strangely familiar to Rulf. He is in fact overwhelmed by amnesia and only a fragment of his dark past remains, lost in the crevices of his mind.
1. Prologue

Prologue

Blood trickled from the king's mouth. It flowed quickly, in a dark stream that had begun to separate, becoming as divided as the very kingdom he now ruled over.  
>"RASTORIS, YOU TREACHEROUS FIEND!" he spat, his eyes wide with rage.<br>The man whom he had addressed, now stepping towards him with a manner so carefree and devoid of urgency he might have been taking a stroll in the park, grew ever closer to his king he had just betrayed. Rastoris, as he was named - the most fatal error King Grafheim would live to realize he had ever made - was also once his highest general and chief advisor. And yet, only a mere ten seconds ago, the man whose trust had steadily been earned, whose reputation had preceded him, whose favour with the royal barons of the land had risen high above all others, had now just attacked the very king whom he had so loyally served. In a swirling, ominous dark vortex of crackling energy, Rastoris had unleashed, as though a starving dog from its cage eager to tear at the flesh of his highness, a terrible blast of what can only be described as "black magic".  
>This in turn, sent the poor king corkscrewing through the air, a feather caught up in a ferocious storm, before landing with a sickening crack on the cold stone floor beneath him. His insides felt charred, his vision swam mockingly before him as blood relentlessly made its way up from his shaken core to his mouth and reinforced a metallic, bitter taste of defeat. There, slumped lifelessly against a wall, he had never felt more helpless in his entire existence, which itself seemed to be sand slipping through his fingers.<br>"Only a matter of time," snarled Rastoris, as though reading the king's mind.  
>His pale face had been contorted into an unearthly twisted smile; his foreboding shadow swallowing up the miniature monarch.<br>"Where is your queen?" he suddenly enquired, the smile disappearing in an instant and being replaced with a look of disdain.  
>"Leave her out of this," choked Grafheim, showing his teeth which now resembled stained rocks in a red, overflowing sea. "Why, Rastoris? I trus-"<br>"Trust can be misleading, it seems", interrupted Rastoris with a smirk, although rapidly appearing to grow impatient.  
>He continued: "However, I must say, after I have destroyed every living man, woman and child in your kingdom, my race, the Zedirans, will rise again and claim this land for their own!"<br>At this, his tiny black eyes started to change briefly like beads, as though someone had waved a lantern into two never ending tunnels.  
>"Now, my king... I bid you goodnight."<br>Somewhere in the most lonely, bleak part of the universe, the king's tortured screams of regret still echo through eternity, long since they were formed at the moment his body was engulfed in a raging inferno of black flames, brought to being by a dark wizard he should never have trusted with his dear kingdom.


	2. Chapter 1 - If you go into the Woods

1 – If you go into the woods

A rolling blanket of mist...  
>A deep and dark wood...<br>A boy sits waiting...

Waiting in fact, whilst perched high on a tree branch, overlooking the fearsome beasts below him. Not one, not two, but three particularly vicious looking wolves were snapping their jaws furiously, causing thick webs of saliva to dangle precariously, before being abruptly severed by sharp teeth.  
>"Great," murmured Rulf. How did he manage to get himself into this mess? Elder Borin had warned him on many an occasion not to go wandering too far into the woods. But did he listen? As he casually peered down at the canines barely ten feet beneath him, a most resounding "no" came to mind. What's more, with each successive jump executed at their newly found hostage, they were getting closer and closer.<br>Rulf sat rather indifferently, despite the wolves' increasing anticipation regarding their next meal, equally marked by the progressively heightened scratches they scored in the bark of that quivering tree. He pondered his escape options, quickly realizing that he had very little.  
>Now the wolves were barely clipping the heels of his limply hanging boots; he could feel the revolting warmth of their putrid breath on his face. They were almost upon him now. One more jump and he would surely be within their grasp. One more snap of jaws before they would close around his throat. One more precious second of life remaining.<br>He blinked. Upon opening his eyes, he was met with a peculiar sight. Squinting down, he observed that the wolves had gone. Now gazing frantically at his surroundings, he tried to make sense of what had just happened.  
>And then he saw them again. Scurrying away into the darkness like insects burrowing into the ground, he caught a glimpse of the wolves retreating into the shadows. Was he safe? All he knew was that, for whatever reason, they had all decided to suddenly leave. Was there something even more threatening, even more frightening, somewhere close by? Was this the real reason the creatures had left with such haste?<br>In an instant, Rulf leapt and was sailing through a sea of gloom, landing gently on the damp soil underneath his feet. He exchanged a couple of looks both left and right; then began to make his way. Further scanning his bleak surroundings, with eyebrows raised slightly above dark green wary eyes, the young villager had not been walking for more than a short five seconds when, cracking under a clumsily misplaced foot, a twig sent sound ricocheting off of the nearby trees like a bullet. Wincing slightly, Rulf raised his head and chanced to look behind him, fearing the worst.  
>His fears were realized. As though a monstrous gray claw was cutting its way through the leaves towards him, the three wolves were back and sprinting towards him with a renewed and terrifying intensity. Letting out a curse, Rulf had spun himself around and quickly began darting through the thin trees which stood tall around him like guards trying to hinder his escape. With only puffs of smoky leaves being left behind him, he dared not turn around to see if his pursuers were closing in. The drumming of many paws on the tough ground behind him was a death roll signifying his impending doom. Spotting what looked to be a wide gulley up ahead, he pressed on, fighting his way through the army of overhanging vines.<br>Then, without thinking, he jumped.  
>For a brief moment it was as if time itself stood still. Propelled through the air, now regardless of his initial intentions, Rulf slapped onto the side of the great ditch with force, as the wolf pack behind him skidded to a halt and kicked up a great fog of dust. But one of the wolves kept going and, as Rulf desperately clawed, grabbed and tugged at whatever dirt, rock or weed he could find, the creature landed almost right beside him.<br>Taken by surprise, he turned to see the glaring eyes of the beast piercing through him and cried out as a tremendous paw came slashing through the air towards him and scraped his arm. Despite this, he continued, almost in vain, to scramble up the remainder of the steep slope as the wolf finally succumbed to its gradient and with a deep resounding howl, tumbled down into its earthy depths and disappeared from view.  
>Catching his breath, Rulf turned to see the last of the wolves sitting there panting and fixated on him, though thankfully unable (or simply unwilling) to risk reaching him.<p>

It was nearly dark by the time he had reached the village. A thin beam of moonlight cut through the velvet sky and bathed the woods in an eerie soft light. Rulf looked a mess. Black hair was strewn across his sweat covered brow and plastered itself to flushed pink skin. His sleeve was torn, his trousers were muddy and his arm swayed limply at his side. Gingerly touching at it, he saw that the wound only felt worse than it actually was.  
>He barely had time to sigh a breath of relief as he stumbled towards the scattered houses when he heard unfamiliar voices ahead of him, which caught his attention.<br>"I don't know why we had to waste our time going to this pathetic village!.."  
>"Shut up, Salbavore! We must follow the king's orders."<br>A small party of tired and particularly irritated looking soldiers, clad in light armor, met Rulf's sight as they rose over a slope leading up from the village. It seemed that a couple of them were quarrelling about something as they continued to bicker in lowered tones, even after they saw Rulf, whom they started eyeing suspiciously.  
>Amongst the deathly procession, a slightly hunched over, wrinkled old man hobbled quickly in a bizarrely animated fashion to keep up with his counterparts. He carried a knobbly but strong looking stick, which he slammed into the ground with unexpected strength each couple of hurried strides he took.<br>As Rulf took notice of his dark blue, flowing robe, a hand shot towards him, clutching his arm in a vice grip. Almost crying out in pain - especially since this was his injured arm - he turned his head to see that the tremoring hand with fingers pressed hard against his skin belonged to the old man.  
>Their gazes met each other, in which Rulf was startled to see that the man had eyes consisting only of white, with no pupil or iris to be seen. Despite this, he could feel them drilling slowly into his very being and felt a great sense of unease. The face of this elder became even more crinkled, like a ball of scrunched up paper, as he licked his cracked and dry lips feverishly.<br>"Something... Peculiar. I feel something peculiar about this one."  
>His voice was harsh and almost heaved, as though his lungs might have given up at any second. He continued to lick his lips, speaking in barely more than a whisper.<br>"Yesss, this is a strange energy indeed.."  
>The longer Rulf remained in contact with the old man, the more he felt like he was being drawn out of the very body in which he stood. Just as though it seemed the intensity would become unbearable, a voice rang out from nearby, shattering the hold he was under.<br>"Fendrel! Let us tarry no more!.. King Rastoris will be most displeased if we do not fulfill our civic duties. Now come!"  
>With that, Fendrel, as he was so called, released his grip from Rulf's shaken arm and started to grumble under his breath, before continuing on up the hill towards the voice that had called him onwards.<br>Rulf didn't need anyone to tell him to get going. He set off down the hill, trying to figure out the events that had just transpired. Whilst he did this, he was greeted by the view of dozens of friendly flickering lights in the quaint little village beneath him. He saw the thatched houses, like sleeping animals in the semi-darkness, heard the gentle clucking of chickens and smelled the sweet aroma of many bundles of hay - home. The boy could hardly wait to recall his recent mishaps to someone.


	3. Chapter 2 - The Fiery Girl

2 – The Fiery Girl

The gentle cantering of a horse made soft, muffled noises in the long grass as it approached Rulf. Up high on its back rode a girl with blazing red hair, in long messy strands that quivered like flames as the horse moved. Her hazel eyes met Rulf's, reflecting a warm light as though they were chestnuts roasting pleasantly in a fire. The wild and untamed hair was in stark contrast to the face which had a friendly glow. This girl's name was Fia; childhood had forged a strong bond between her and Rulf.  
>"I see you've taken it upon yourself to liven up country life again, haven't you?" she giggled softly, eyeing the dirt that covered Rulf almost from head to toe.<br>"Well it does get pretty boring around here sometimes," he sighed. "But this time I might have gone too far."  
>"Yes, but it doe- Oh, my!" she gasped suddenly, noticing his injuries. Her voice was now coloured with worry. "Are you okay?"<br>"I think so," he remarked, "It looks worse than it is, no need for concern." He looked up and tried to smile, though admittedly not in the most convincing way. Somewhat satisfied, she proceeded to enquire as to what exactly Rulf had been doing. He was quick to relay everything to her, including the encounter with the strange old man.  
>"You need to be more careful," she warned, adding with some apprehension, "That old man and the soldiers' presence concerns me."<br>"Why is that?" asked Rulf, who was now trying to remove some of the mud from his clothes and only managing to make them worse.  
>"Because," explained Fia, with some brief amusement as she watched Rulf, before turning severe, "they said they were carrying out routine checks as requested by the kingdom, to assess the 'safety' in populated areas of the province. Though, they were pretty vague about their real intentions. I wonder... why would they bother nosing around somewhere as small as this village? It seems odd. I think they were looking for something... or someone," she concluded thoughtfully. "Either way, I didn't get a good feeling from them." Fia was a bright young woman; Rulf was always interested to hear her point of view on things. He pondered for a moment and then commented with a slight grin, "The old guy creeps me out the most, he could break me in half and drink my spinal fluids if he wanted to, I'm sure.."<br>His further pondering was interrupted when a couple of boys who lived in the village happened to be strolling by. One hollered in a bounderish manner, "Hey Fia, what are you doing over there? And why are you talking to him?" He spoke the words as though they left a sour taste in his mouth. "My parents have warned me about him," he said darkly.  
>"Well Ulric," she retaliated with a sudden ferocity, "Your parents don't know anything about Rulf and have no right to say such things!"<br>Rulf, meanwhile, watched on feeling slightly awkward. The horse puffed indifferently.  
>Ulric replied bitterly, "They know enough not to trust him, that's for sure." With that, he skulked away quickly, sniggering with his companion. Fia clenched her fists and stared down at the ground with a force so strong that it appeared she might burn right through it.<br>"Leave it, it's fine," said Rulf dismissively. He was used to this. Ever since he was small, he had felt like an outsider. He was an outsider. No matter how hard he would try to make friends with the other children in the village, he had always been regarded with suspicion. He wasn't like the others; their fear and avoidance of him brought this realization to Rulf like a nail being savagely driven down into a coffin.  
>"It's just annoying, they don't understand anything!" she cried exasperatedly. "It's not your fault that you're different from the rest of us." She was referring by this to the fact that Rulf was not originally from the village of Woodlark like everyone else. In fact - he didn't know where he was from at all. To the best of his knowledge, Elder Borin had told him long ago that he'd stumbled upon Rulf, who was just a small boy at the time, when he was travelling the hillsides near the village. Surrounded by complete devastation, a boy who appeared to be no more than 5 years old stood nervously with dried tears shimmering on his pale face. The trees were smouldering and uprooted, a thick blanket of smoke was draped over the sky and the ground had been scarred with deep fissures. The elder took the frightened young boy's hand and led him back to the nearby settlement. Regarding the eerie circumstances in which he was discovered, the villagers saw Rulf as a bad omen that would bring similar misfortune to them. Despite Borin's best efforts, they would not be persuaded otherwise. This was not helped, for the most part, by the fact that this boy would eat vast quantities of the weekly food supplies; accidentally break many farming tools in his curiosity to pick them up and use them; possessed wicked strength exceeding the burliest of men; and frightened the other children with his unnatural speed and overly competitive streak during play. Needless to say, he was often great trouble. Only two people really understood him and realized that he meant no harm. Those two were Borin and Fia.<br>Borin showed him love and kindness, raising him as one of his own, although this proved to be a handful at times and easier said than done. Fia, whilst alarmed initially, soon warmed to Rulf's strange and excitable nature. They quickly became friends. As the years passed, Rulf would do his best to avoid upsetting any of his mistrusting neighbours. He was not, fortunately, in any way overly upset concerning his isolation, but was often more than content to be left alone to explore the land circling Woodlark. He further quenched his thirst for enlightenment through the daily teachings of Borin and his plentiful collection of books. Many a night would be spent sitting under the stars, the air filled with the distant chirping of insects, whilst he and Fia reflected deeply on the world and what might lie out there.  
>This was to be such a night, except more fateful than they could ever have imagined. As they found themselves lost in conversation a couple of hours after their earlier encounter that day, a chill breathed through the woods and sharply rustled the dying leaves.<br>"I've heard from Elder Borin," started Rulf, collapsed onto the damp grass, "that there are some people in the cities and towns possessing the ability to use magic..." His eyes flashed with childish excitement as he thought about this and gazed up into the inky black sky that was sprinkled with stars like shimmering sequins. "How I long to see that."  
>Fia's lips curved into a wry smile as she replied, "You do know, that some villagers claim Elder Borin has that gift also?"<br>"Really?" he remarked, taken aback slightly. "How did you know this? Why haven't I been told?" His face soured, although it was hard to see in the dim glow that the moonlight offered.  
>"Well.. It's more of a rumour, but, some people aren't always what they seem, you know? He's taught us many things, but I suppose there are equally as many secrets concerning what that old coot knows."<br>Rulf chortled a little and blurted, "But magic? C'mon!" He added incredulously, "Surely we would have seen him do something by now!" A small stone whirred through the air as Rulf tossed it into the shadows and listened to it bounce off of a nearby tree with a dull clunk.  
>"I agree," noted Fia, watching the stone fall into the undergrowth. "Perhaps he doesn't want us to know."<br>"Why not, though?"  
>"Well Rulf, you've seen the way people react to you whenever you do something strange. Like just the other day, when you thought it would be funny to lift the fattest fully grown pig over your head and run around with it, pretending it could fly. Mrs Calcrock and her children were horrified. The elder has an obligation to be the calm voice of reason around here, the rational one, not to go crazy and start freaking everyone out. If he was to use magic, assuming he could of course, I don't think people would trust him in the same way they do at the moment. It's unnatural and such an alien concept to them that I very much doubt too many would be impressed."<br>"I suppose," Rulf conceded with a shrug.  
>The grass behind them crunched under the weight of another person approaching them. It was elder Borin.<br>Speak of the devil, I hope he wasn't listening, mused Rulf. He adjusted himself and peered up into the lined face with smiling eyes that surveyed them both.  
>"I thought I might find the two of you here," Borin stated, although he looked up at the sky curiously. Murmuring in an absent-minded fashion, "Hmmm.. A full moon..", he added, as if burst from a bubble and transported back to the real world, "Oh, there's soup cooking if either of you two are hungry." He regarded them with a pleasant look and then trailed away softly, retreating back into the heart of the village.<br>Rulf licked his lips eagerly. "You heard him," he said, as if those were the only words needed.  
>Rolling her eyes, Fia scrambled to her feet. "Alright.." she sighed.<p>

As they strolled back towards the houses which were decorated with dancing shadows, Fia hugged her billowing white t-shirt as the wind began to hungrily bite at their faces.  
>"It hasn't been this cold in a while," she remarked through the chattering of her teeth. Rulf merely nodded - he didn't feel the cold. Even so, he noticed the change as they stepped into the welcoming warmth of the house and were greeted by the lovely crackling of a fire, above which hanged a small cauldron containing orange soup that occasionally threatened to escape in large rising bubbles. The gloriously rich smell permeated through Rulf's nostrils and invigorated his senses.<br>"Ohhhh, boy!" he exclaimed, already rushing over towards it, nearly knocking over poor Elder Borin, who sat hunched over on a wobbling stool, wide-eyed and clawing furiously at the wooden table in front of him so that he didn't fall. Fia made her way over much more gracefully, gliding like an unnoticed ghost and fetching herself a bowl. When they were both seated, for a moment there was quiet, save for the sounds of the roaring fire and slurping from Rulf. His bowl finished, he lowered his spoon with a clatter, looking up towards the elder with interest.  
>"What do you know, well, of.. I guess... magic?" he asked, fumbling awkwardly with his words.<br>For an instant it appeared that Borin's eyes narrowed, as he raised his head, an inquisitive face emerging from behind a large green book he was holding, entitled 'Garden Pests and How to Remove them'.  
>"Well," he began with an air of suspicion, "I confess to know very little about it but - what is it you wish to know?"<br>"Ummmm... Anything, really, I suppose. And... can you use magic?"  
>"Ha!" he cried animatedly, a twinkle in his eyes as he slammed the book down on the table. Then he revealed impressively, "I might be able to use it to some degree." His words had a mysterious musical quality to them. Like a maybe you'll never know kind of tone that surrounded them.<br>This excited Rulf to no end, who leaned up on his chair as though he was a dog waiting for his owner to put food down for him. "Tell me more!" he barked. Fia at this point also lowered her bowl of soup, interested.  
>Elder Borin obliged, at first with a short "Hmm." Then added, "Magic is such a misleading term. If I was to tell you that magic does not exist, there would actually be a lot of truth to it. In this world, those with overly scientific minds who cannot explain things attribute it to such 'magic'. This is not necessarily so. For you see, these beings are enslaved by their own restrictions that they have placed upon themselves and their obsession with things that can be quickly proven and measured. Not all things are like that. Indeed, many things are not so. Magic just happens to be one of them. It is so, that magicians can see both sides of the same coin, whilst others are in darkness and ignorance." At this, Borin produced a coin from his robe and slid it onto the table, where it gleamed in the dying firelight. "Some only see one side, the side that is facing them. Users of magic have the unique ability to see the side underneath, the one that isn't at first apparent."<br>Rulf reached out and picked up the coin, holding it closer for inspection. He could vaguely make out his face on its surface, staring with wonder back at him.  
>"Hey!" Borin whined unexpectedly like a schoolgirl, his bottom lip drooping. "That's my money!" Rulf flushed a little. Fia coughed, although neither of the others knew she was actually suppressing laughter.<br>"So I was saying," he continued, retrieving the coin, "We each contain spiritual energy that animates our flesh, breathing life into our otherwise crumpled bodies which are vessels for this energy. Magic is merely a projection of this unique energy. Naturally, this means that because one person will be different from another, the magic we can use will vary greatly between different people and is an expression of that person's character.  
>"That makes a lot of sense, actually," said Fia, her eyes harbouring some deep understanding. Rulf, meanwhile, scratched his head, confused.<br>"But that's enough for today," Borin concluded, followed by the sound of Rulf's protest." It's getting late and you should both be heading for bed." At this, his eyes wandered around the room, lingering, then stopped dead at the window. Rulf may have just been imagining it, but the elder's face looked a little grave of late. This seemed to be almost confirmed when he muttered, as if to himself, "The wind of change is blowing. First, the uneasy feeling a few months ago and now these strange intruders today..." Slowly waking from his eerie daydream with a sudden exclamation of "To bed!", he rose from his seat and the groveling children made their way, Rulf upstairs to his bedroom and Fia out the creaking front door to her own parents.  
>Rulf's small bed was submerged in deep blue puddles of moonlight that washed over the walls and floor, bleeding through the shaking trees outside and into his room. A stool, a shelf, a few wooden models he'd crafted and a selection of his favourite books were the only objects in his own private little area. Changing into clean clothes which included a thick woolen jumper, he crashed into his bed, a bed that felt more like a large block of ice on this particular night. Thoughts of teeth-bearing, furious wolves plagued his mind, though soon enough a wave of restless sleep had rolled over him.<br>At the very edge of his village, the grassy ground shook and beads of moisture fell as many heavy boots trudged over them. A wall of soldiers, perhaps a dozen in number, marched relentlessly towards the nearest house, every man with his sword drawn.


	4. Chapter 3 - Night Fright

3 – Night Fright

Rulf was ripped from the realms of sleep and catapulted back into reality with bone shattering force. His face was cold, wet and clammy. He was also shivering slightly, though why exactly, he wasn't sure. Something had woken him suddenly, but he was drunk with fatigue and couldn't remember what it was. And then he heard it. A sound that made his blood freeze.  
>"BRING ME THE BOY! BRING HIM TO ME NOW AND NO ONE WILL SUFFER!" The rough voice cut through the cold night air like a harsh, rusty blade. Rulf recognized with immediate apprehension who it belonged to - that ominous, terrifying, white-eyed man. Had he come back for him?<br>No... No, no, no! This can't be!  
>Dark thoughts slowly wormed into Rulf's mind as he desperately clawed his way out of bed. He then almost jumped out of his skin when a shadowy figure darted its way up the stairs and into his room. Reeling back in a panic, Rulf slumped onto the floor and stared helplessly as the figure blocked the exit. He was done for. It was with great relief that his tired eyes adjusted to the familiar face of Elder Borin, who was fixing him with an anxious stare.<br>"What's going on? I heard-" Rulf began, though he was interrupted by Borin, whose voice was stern and had a certain disconcertment underlying it.  
>"There's little time to explain.. Rulf... You're aware that you are not from this village. Not like everyone else. But.. The fact is.. You were found amongst darkness, destruction and chaos. Amongst death."<br>Rulf's tired and tortured brain wrestled with what he was being told. The elder continued. "You are special, Rulf. And you know as well as I do, that this fact is true. As a result of this, there may be some people out there who will try to harm you."  
>"But why?" asked Rulf, his face contorted into a desperate frown.<br>"I don't have time to explain right now," was the only answer he got. "Listen carefully, Rulf.. I have a cousin, he is the elder of Helm village situated north of here; his name is Cresamen. You must go to him for the time being, so that you will be safe. Don't ask questions, you have to trust me."  
>"But-"<br>"Go now!" requested the elder, his words sounding almost like a plea. It seemed as if Rulf had no choice in the matter. He would have to oblige with Borin's wish.  
>As he raced down the stairs, his mind raced even faster. The sinister old man was still out there; Rulf could hear his cracked and sharp words piercing into his consciousness.<br>"That boy! Bring him TO ME, I say!" It seemed surprising that despite the worn out and faded voice the man had used earlier that day, it now seemed to be rejuvenated with wicked cruelty. Borin was already at the open door. He stood resolutely in the entrance, raising his hands into the air. With what looked like great concentration, he stared straight ahead and stretched his old and wrinkled fingers. Slowly but surely, Rulf watched in amazement as from the damp grass, swirling currents of thick white vapour began to rise. It condensed, so that within mere seconds the whole village appeared to be swamped in thick fog. Was this just one of the many things the old man could do that Rulf was so blatantly unaware of? Borin gave a movement of his hand and beckoned Rulf beside him.  
>"Now.." he uttered softly. "You know this village better than our intruders tonight. This fog will aid you in staying unnoticed. Head for the woods and use its cover to go to the Northeast Valleys. The old man who seeks you is a parasitic, venomous character who goes by the name of Fendrel. Do not let him reach you at any cost. Also, know that his threats are empty and false: he does not have any interest in attacking the whole village. I would simply not allow him to harm any of our people, regardless. However, his prime concern is you. As I said, do not let him achieve this. If you don't escape successfully and he captures you - there may be little I can do to help you, Rulf." He looked sombre at this.<br>Rulf simply nodded. "Alright," he murmured reluctantly. Taking one last sideways glance at Borin, who smiled weakly at him, Rulf plunged into the rolling tide of fog as Borin's face became submerged, gradually becoming lost in deep white currents.  
>The cold air hurt Rulf's chest as he stalked silently towards where he knew the woods were situated. It just had to be that his house was the most centrally located in the village. What rotten luck. Fendrel's rasping cries had been dampened to a distant wail now, but Rulf wouldn't have been surprised if that was just because of the suffocating mist. Either way, he dearly hoped he was getting away from him. Rulf wanted nothing more than to be as far away from that man as possible. Once familiar houses now blurred past him like ghostly shapes. His thought process was interrupted when he heard the crunching of feet in the grass, feet which were much closer than he would have liked. Darting behind the nearest house, he nervously squinted from around his hiding place, struggling to see through the thick veil of vapour.<br>A tall man with a bitter scowl on his red face made slow steps towards where Rulf was crouched and shivering. Something cold and gray was swinging loosely at his side. A sword. It wasn't long before his worn boots rounded the corner and the soldier's narrowed eyes fixed directly upon Rulf. Or, they would have, if it wasn't for the bundles of straw that Rulf had scrambled under as the soldier had made his approach to the house. The lengths of straw smelled of pleasant summer days and tickled at his skin, although Rulf knew that the world outside him right now was about as far as you could get from that. How apt it was that he lay there as still as a scarecrow; yet it was he who was feeling as scared as any crow, trying to focus on breathing slowly under that mound of straw, despite his heart's pounding which he felt certain would give him away. He lay listening. Listening for something, anything at all... But he only heard nothing. The soldier had gone by and Rulf was left unnoticed.  
>He wanted to cry out as the soldier's sword was thrust viciously into the straw. He wanted to yelp as the sharp steel punctured his surroundings repeatedly, a mere yard away from where his curled body was nested. Even as he brought his knees to his chest, the blade seemed to be getting ever closer to him until it would finally come to rest inside Rulf's pale flesh. But then it stopped. This time, the soldier, who had satisfied his curiosity, really could be heard sliding away his sword with a musical chime that eased Rulf's apprehension, if only a little. The footsteps on the hard earth grew fainter and fainter as the man made his way elsewhere. Rulf waited, making sure his hunter would not deceive him a second time; lying for a minute that seemed to drag on for hours.<br>When he felt it was clear, Rulf swam through the sea of straw and started towards the edge of the village - to safety, with any luck. Cautiously, he tiptoed past the remaining houses between him and his escape. Within seconds he was making his way into the woods. As the trees and overgrowth devoured him, he felt instantly safer. Surely nature would keep him safe from the cruel hands of men. As this comforting thought bathed his mind with a soothing sense of ease, he found the earth rushing up to greet him, as he was slammed into the ground by a rough force hitting him in his back. Before he could utter a moan in response to someone's weight driving him into the leaves, a clammy hand was clasped over his mouth. It was a blind, panicked effort to swirl around in order to see his pursuer. When he finally saw who it was, he was even more startled. Fia.  
>Wait, what? Fia?<br>She lifted her hand away from his face and instead brought a finger to her lips, after blowing a wild mess of hair away from her sparkling eyes. Then she motioned with a nod to the east, the direction in which Rulf had been creeping towards. He rolled back onto his stomach and peeped though the dense network of vines before him. Though he was keeping low and concealed for the moment, he had not noticed up to this point that there were two soldiers who were passing by only thirty metres or so from his position. If he had of kept on going, he would have been in their field of vision. They would have sighted him fairly quickly. After all, Borin's cloak of fog did not stretch much beyond the village.  
>Rulf tilted back towards Fia, who gave him a knowing look as she pushed herself up from him.<br>"What are you doing out here?!" he hissed, annoyed that she would put herself in such danger.  
>"Well, that's some thanks for me saving your neck," she murmured. "I heard the noises outside and decided I wasn't just going to sit there and let you do something stupid. So I threw some stuff together and sneaked out of the house." At this point she gestured towards a small and worn looking rucksack on her shoulders. "I just had a feeling you'd go this way and sure enough, I saw you entering the woods. You're so bad at staying unnoticed, I swear it's a miracle you weren't caught alrea-"<br>"But your parents will lose their minds with worry, Fia!"  
>She quickly threw away a concerned expression and countered, "I'd rather see that I did something useful, besides I left a quick note and, well," at this point she blushed a little, "I don't want to see you come to any harm."<br>Rulf sighed. "Oh, I appreciate your concern, but I'll be just fine. Really."  
>"Really?" she heaved, somewhat incredulously. "Like just earlier? Listen, I'm coming, whether you like it or not."<br>Witnessing the resolution, set like stone on her face, Rulf paused for a moment and then said, "Alright, so I've been told to escape the village and it was suggested I make my way up to the north, using these woods as cover."  
>Her answer was short and simple. "Right." Then she added, "So, you're just going to leave until this whole thing calms down? That's what I anticipated Elder Borin would've told you to do."<br>"Not exactly.."  
>"How so?"<br>"Well," he thought for a moment, "he wants me to go to this village called Helm and I guess lay low there for a day or two."  
>"Well, it makes sense, I guess," she considered. "But let's go already."<br>"Yes, miss," he groaned, before starting to wrestle his way through the branches. Together, they trudged through the woods and into the crushing darkness, unaware of the many dangers that awaited them.


	5. Chapter 4 - Unbearable

4 - Unbearable

There wasn't a single sight or sound that suggested any soldiers were in their immediate surroundings. That was what made Rulf so uneasy. Every shadow cast by every object in the woods seemed ominous, like silent stalkers looming over them. Fia gritted her teeth as a branch snapped under her foot. Rulf thought to himself in silence. It could be bothersome having her around. He considered maybe trying to escape from her, once they had cleared the woods. But then again, he now felt responsible. At the same time, he also wondered if she might be safer left to find her way back home, rather than to potentially walk into the jaws of danger with him.  
>Overhead, the sky was a velvet cloth draped over the land, smothering it in blackness. The two of them were nearly out of the woods now. Rulf just prayed that there wouldn't be any wolves that could get to them before they were completely out. Dying leaves hopelessly crumpled on the floor, mixed with vines that were writhing as if in agony, soon subsided into soft green grass. This was it. The Northern Valleys. Fia stopped, sitting on a large rock and observing the wounded hillsides. The constant breathing of flowing water could be heard in the distance.<br>"I wonder how far Helm is from here," stated Fia, without expression. She sat hunched over, hands on her knees.  
>"Borin didn't actually say... he didn't tell me much at all," was the somewhat bitter reply that Rulf gave. He hoped she wouldn't slow them down too much, especially if the soldiers had figured out which way the pair had gone. Although he knew, deep down, that she obviously just wanted to help and meant no harm. The poor girl also looked quite worn out. They had been walking for around two hours now, he supposed.<br>"Listen, do you want to stop and rest somewhere for a bit?"  
>"I'm pretty tired, yeah," Fia exhaled. After rubbing at her eyes for a moment as if she was a cat, she said, "But we should try to find somewhere that's covered. That way we won't be spotted as easily."<br>"That sounds like an okay idea," agreed Rulf.  
>"Well of course it is," she said triumphantly, "this is me, you know."<p>

It didn't take long for them to make progress in the valley: it was downhill mostly. Deep holes in the ground threatened to swallow up their feet and break their ankles, due to the relentless momentum it forced them into down the sharp slope. What had made these narrow holes? Cattle probably, Rulf presumed. Hopefully not something any larger, or any more dangerous for that matter. About halfway down this machine-gunned valley, the slope mercifully gave way to flatter ground. They had been heading towards the sound of the water - Rulf was thirsty and Fia just wanted to wash her face.  
>Girls, he thought to himself. Soon enough they had found the source, a waterfall which spilled out of the hillside like a ruptured water balloon. The spray was powerful and coated Rulf's tongue with a million beads of water as he panted towards it. Fia returned, with her reddish brown fringe soaking and plastered to her face, which looked odd to Rulf. But at least she looked happier, he mused.<br>It was Rulf who spotted a large alcove in the valley on the other side of the waterfall. So they made their way across to it by going behind the waterfall. The feeling was a strange one, walking under a cascade of water, hugging the wall and being feet away from the ethereal sheet that was constantly sliding down around them. Making it easily to the other side (except for Fia, who Rulf had to support as she slipped several times on the wet moss) they could see the alcove clearly now. It appeared as if both soil and rock had been worn away, forming a short tunnel in the face of the valley, a deep wound in the usually smooth surface.  
>"This place looks perfect!" declared Rulf enthusiastically.<br>"Are you sure?" came the concerned reply from Fia. But Rulf hadn't really been listening. She shrugged and said, "Well alright..."

Even though it was so very late at night, the moon was full and stared down at them, like the pale face of a corpse. Its gaze gave everything an eerie glow, so that the shining rock around them almost pulsed with a disturbing malevolence. Fia shivered. She shuffled around slowly to face Rulf, only to find that he was already asleep, slumped just inside of the tunnel's wall. Her eyelids felt heavy and the world around her faded into blackness. Next thing she knew, she was falling, falling into a wide and all-consuming whirlpool of shadow.

Rulf didn't appreciate being woken by a loud noise twice in one night. This time it was Fia's hair-raising scream that jolted him awake. As his eyes adjusted to the darkness, he saw a large blurry figure, approaching them slowly from a distance not too far away. The blurry mass materialised into a sharp, rough image of a huge mountain bear. The fur was ragged and uneven, its eyes emotionless, cold black pits. The teeth it flashed were a display of thick yellowish needles. And it was headed straight for him. Rulf had just enough time to see Fia, before his view was obscured by its massive frame. The last fleeting glimpse he had was that of her crumbling against the tunnel wall and shooting a look of hysteria towards them, powerless to help him. This was it. The bear could surely have torn anyone apart, and it looked like it intended to do just that.  
>But Rulf wasn't just anyone. He'd known this most of his life, and as the bear unleashed two crushingly strong arms, the curiously strong boy met them with an equally brutal force. The situation would have been humorous if it wasn't for the danger involved; for a somewhat unbelievable period of time the two opponents were locked in a tremendous grapple. Rulf's boots were burrowing into the ground, grazing the floor of the cave. Meanwhile the bear panted, eyes widening with surprise, as Fia was the equally disbelieving onlooker in this ridiculous scene. Neither were conceding an inch, though the bear was visibly shaken. Rulf used this moment of doubt to shift himself sideways and use the bear's weight – who was practically leaning on him in frustration by this point – to let go and allow the creature to come crashing into the wall. This sent a dull sound echoing through the tunnel as though a silenced pistol had been fired. Already grabbing Fia's arm and dragging her rigid body away from the cave, Rulf could see that she looked like she had lost her mind between seeing the bear and the incident that had just happened. The whole tunnel seemed to roar with anger as the bear swivelled clumsily. It bounded towards Rulf on all fours, a vicious bowling ball attempting to break him to splinters. Rulf responded by snatching up a long stick he'd spotted during his hasty retreat. It rained pieces of wood as he struck the bear full force across the head and watched the weapon disintegrate before him. The bear howled and reared up on its back legs, doubling in height. Its frightful towering figure then focussed its attention on Fia, who was apparently still paralysed with fear.<br>"No! Fia.." Rulf heaved, staring after the shadowed shape that was now mechanically lurching towards her. Without thinking, Rulf charged after it, praying he wouldn't be too late. As if he was a fly, the bear's paw swatted him away and he was lifted briefly into the night air, before hurtling through several feet of the dirt and coming to a dead stop in the choking dust. The bear resumed its slow onslaught of terror, relishing the sickening approach as he descended upon Fia. Almost out of nowhere, the creature became a wildly contorted shape as Rulf slammed into its back. In a final and confused rush of movements, both the bear and Rulf disappeared over the edge of the steep hill and there was no trace of either of them anymore.  
>Out of view, the scenery became eerily quiet again. Fia blinked and slowly absorbed her senses back into her trembling body. On her hands and knees, she began to panic and clawed her way over to the edge from which the two had vanished. Her eyes were wavering and speckles of water dispersed from them, as she screwed up her face and shrieked towards the ocean of blackness beneath her.<br>"RULF!..." The cry sounded feeble, and it drowned in the loneliness she now felt. She didn't know what to do if Rulf had truly gone. Would it be wise to go down and look for him, or would the bear find her first? As if in response to this question, a hand emerged from over the edge. Fia jumped as Rulf heaved himself up and stood there, dusting himself off.  
>"Where did that thing go?" croaked Fia, her hands shaking as she tried to pull Rulf away from the edge.<br>"It ran away after we hit the bottom," he replied indifferently. "I stood on its back as it slid down the slope head first. Can you believe that? I surfed a bear!" At this, a small fit of laughter overwhelmed him. Fia, despite nearly being in tears, felt her face crack into a smile. In that split second, in which the heaviness of the air seemed to lift slightly, she honestly thought that they were going to be okay. Unbeknownst to her, she was dead wrong.


	6. Chapter 5 - Devouring Darkness

5 – Devouring Darkness

It didn't take long for Rulf and Fia to leave the valleys, and they certainly didn't think twice about doing it. Their "resting place" had almost become their final resting place, thanks to that terrible bear. The night saw them breaking into a nervous, sweaty jog, as they crept down the various slopes and anxiously threw periodic over-the-shoulder glances towards the blackness that was chasing them.  
>"I don't know why," Rulf panted between strides, "but the animals seem to be acting strangely recently. I've never known them to be this aggressive. The wolves, the bear, even the birds look agitated these days."<br>"There must be some sort of upset in the balance," gasped Fia, who was struggling to keep up with Rulf's pace. "Though I can't guess what. But something has definitely changed recently, I agree."  
>A light rain buffeted them as they made their way northwards. Thankfully, trees began to grow up ahead and were tall umbrellas that covered them as the downpour steadily increased. This area had seen its share of terrible weather. Wind beaten plants grew unnaturally and thick cylinders of wood littered the surface from fallen oaks. It was like a graveyard for trees. The intense purple sky paled slightly at first, visible in a mottled pattern through the dancing leaves of the overhead trees. Then the heavens slowly started bleeding as red began trickling its way into the stratosphere. The night was ending.<br>Rulf was leading the way through the damp shadowy surroundings when each foot suddenly kept getting stuck. All of this darn mud, he complained to himself. Fia had by now resigned to staying well behind Rulf and was slowly moving after him at a snail's pace. No more than three extra steps were taken by Rulf when his feet would no longer move.  
>"This is strange," he remarked. "What's happening?" As he gaped down, his entire foot had already been devoured by the hungry, sloshing earth. In horror, he squirmed to turn around and bellowed in shaky tones at the silent woods. "FIA! Don't move! Stay EXACTLY where you are!"<br>"Hmm..?" came the weary reply. "What's.. Oh!" She hurried closer and then froze in her tracks as Rulf's roar paralyzed her movements.  
>"No! Stay away!" Standing hopelessly, rooted to the spot, she held her trembling hands over her mouth as Rulf fought uselessly, as though a mouse in custard. He tried moving quickly, tried staying perfectly still so as not to upset the viscous hell around him, but nothing. None of it worked. Now, as filth hugged his upper torso he made a pathetic attempt to reach a nearby fallen tree. His writhing fingers grazed the rough scaly bark, before mud invaded his eyes, ears and nose as his head plummeted below the surface. Through his tightly closed eyelids he could see only impenetrable blackness and the deep gurgling of liquid around him, like the throaty laughter of a slimy creature that would now consume him, into a stomach that would become his muddy grave. His breath was running out and soon he would have to succumb to the dark brown ooze sliding into his burning lungs. Something solid jabbed him in his arm and he wondered for a fleeting moment if other monsters would attack him in here, even feed on his preserved corpse. That's when the thing jabbed at him again, this time in the chest. Instinctively, he coiled his fingers around it as he felt his consciousness start slipping away from him. If he was going to die, he wasn't going to let this bony creature torment him in his last seconds. As if it sensed his frustration, it tried to pull itself away from him, but he still refused to let go. He felt himself surging upwards through the grime. That was when he realized, as he got closer and closer to the surface and Fia's small hand clasped over his limp wrist, that the mysterious thing had in fact been a large stick. This was confirmed as his head broke the surface and thick mud droplets peeled away from his eyes to reveal the stick floating, dormant beside him as Fia now joined in with her second hand and began to heave him out of the boggy pit. Now he had an arm wrapped around the thick tree trunk he had previously failed to reach, upon which Fia had run out to in order to save him. He scraped his way out, onto the reassuringly solid raft of safety. They both collapsed onto the bark, their heavy breathing the only thing that could be heard permeating through the nearby trees.<br>"I... think I owe..." coughed Rulf, "some thanks to you.. It's times like these that your quick thinking... comes in good use. "  
>"What did I tell you earlier?" she said hysterically. "I wasn't going to let you come to any harm." Rulf was still processing what she had just said when he felt his stomach churn horribly as a cracking sound split the air and the tree on which they were sitting lurched violently. The end from which Fia had come from was now being licked by a rolling tongue of thick mud. It was sinking!<br>She must have felt the same jolt of disbelief as Rulf, because she whimpered to him, "Now what?!", her eyes wider than he had ever seen them. Scanning the surroundings which seemed to shake wildly as the tree sank, he saw a collection of small and closely gathered trees several feet away. He decided in his head that this must be the safest area to land.  
>"We're going to have to jump over there!" he announced suddenly, mud spraying from his soaking arm as he thrust out his hand in the direction of the trees. Fia's stare met his with a look that almost said, are you serious?<br>"I can't!... I can't do it! I won't make it that far!" At this, she became small and crouched timidly, burying her head in her arms. A helpless and muffled scream flew from her hunched over figure, a scream that signified the end. Without thinking, Rulf scooped up her legs and raised her small and retreated figure with his grimy arms. Then he immediately hurled her through the bleak air, where she crashed down hard beside the trees. There was no time, he decided, to worry about her anguished moans of pain as she turned over and over from the rough fall. Taking a step back and silently berating himself for being too forceful, his last squelchy boot left the remaining inch of wood visible above that black lake of death. Tumbling clumsily nearby, he scrambled beside her to see how her face was already drenched with tears and once again he felt a heavy weight of guilt crush down on him. He just hoped nothing had been broken. There would be no way he would ever forgive himself, if that was the case. Holding her gently in his arms, he tried his best to comfort her and check for any serious injuries. The once restless mud had once again become disturbingly still. Its surface, deceptive and cruel, gave no indication that it had ever moved at all. Instantly, it seemed, the monster had come to a rest. Nothing else moved, nothing else made a sound, except for the quiet sobbing from Fia, which occasionally interrupted the otherwise oppressive silence.


End file.
